Brandon Stoddard is dead. And you probably have to be a certain age – at least, old enough to remember when it really was possible to have 40% of the U.S. simultaneously watch something other than the Super Bowl – to appreciate what a loss that represents.
As an executive at ABC, Stoddard presided over televised events whose resonance and influence speak to a different time. The term “epic” is overused, but the productions with which Stoddard was associated didn’t just merit the term; they practically defined it.
“Roots” famously emptied restaurants across America. “The Day After” soberly presented the threat of nuclear annihilation – and aired despite pressure from the White House to quash it.
In this age where “limited series” have become all the rage, Stoddard championed events like “The Thorn Birds,” “The Winds of War,” “Rich Man, Poor Man” and “Masada,” which established the template and set the standard for the form.
As an executive at ABC, Stoddard presided over televised events whose resonance and influence speak to a different time. The term “epic” is overused, but the productions with which Stoddard was associated didn’t just merit the term; they practically defined it.
“Roots” famously emptied restaurants across America. “The Day After” soberly presented the threat of nuclear annihilation – and aired despite pressure from the White House to quash it.
In this age where “limited series” have become all the rage, Stoddard championed events like “The Thorn Birds,” “The Winds of War,” “Rich Man, Poor Man” and “Masada,” which established the template and set the standard for the form.
- 12/23/2014
- by Brian Lowry
- Variety - TV News
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